It always amazes, in fact saddens me, that we dismiss the Old Testament so easily…not only in the ridiculous statements, so glibly made, that God is somehow “different” in the two testaments. Surely one of the main purposes of the incarnation was to show us what God is like. So, when we read Jeremiah we must realise that the weeping prophet wa not just aiding God in writing his story, expecting his words to gather dust and be put away in a corner of the pastor’s office. NO! Jeremiah is speaking directly to us…yes, you and me. Read it. What is he telling you? How will you respond? I have my thoughts, which I shall share, God willing, on Sunday. Think about it ahead of time though and see if we agree!

In Christ

Christopher+

The animals sense the arrival of the new season. The hummingbirds have departed and the rest of the animals seem to be eating more so they can develop layers of fat to withstand the coming cold.
 

Yes, snow season is here…well, maybe only for those of us in Summit Park, and hopefully only briefly…we shall see.
There is lots of preparation for us to do too.  Remember how to winterise the snow blower, locate the different types of snow shovel and get them ready for action!
 

Just as seasons come and go in nature so it is with us spiritually. Whatever the temperature outside we sometimes experience winter within, and it can seem endless.
There is often much hurt deep within  but let’s never forget that buried deep under that ten feet of uncomfortable snow are seeds that fell to the ground in the fall, which are just waiting for a little warmth to reach them so that they can begin to germinate and grow.
As we try and few things organically at St John’s we must remember that seeds require a period of dormancy in order to grow. We ourselves need the quiet of winter for reflection, and gathering our strength so that when the right time comes, we can enter into new phase of our spiritual development.
Christopher+

OK – a question… If you were in charge of our Opening day after service Dinner party, who would you’ all (learning to speak like the locals) invite? As we used to say in England please send your answers on a postcard. Now compare your list with Jesus’ recommendations. Do you have any beggars or poor people mentioned? Any lepers, which includes almost all dangerous and undesirable people we can think of? No? Well maybe we need to start from scratch… Have a look at our Gospel reading for Sunday and see how it works out in practice…is Jesus simply talking about Dining room Etiquette 101? No. It has to be said that Jesus usually embarrassed people who were around him, so I do not think that could have been it. St Luke clearly calls this story a parable, and maybe we need to think in terms of Jesus telling us that God has promised a great wedding party, the “messianic banquet”, but if Israel thinks she has absolute right to sit at top table, she has another think coming. Pride comes before a fall. This is wise counsel to individuals & JC’s great challenge to the Israel of his day; and to us.

I wish Jesus hadn’t said that…. Said what? Have a look at this Sunday’s Gospel: Luke 12:49-56

 

See what I mean?  These words were said by the man who is so often portrayed as meek and mild…well, not exactly!

 

Jesus is telling us that there was a change of season caused by his incarnation. In fact everything changed. The new Kingdom arrived. This should have made the Jews realise that their old goal of removing the occupying Romans needed to be re-thought. Jesus was warning them, as a prophet,  that if they continued down that path things would go badly wrong. They did not listen and within a generation the Temple was destroyed, as predicted.

 

We humans find it so hard to change course. Even when we pray for guidance we find our own agendas creeping up on us, constantly barking for attention. We manage to ignore the plain words of scripture, interpreting them to fit our purpose.

 

Jesus was advising his people to look again at the words of the Old Testament about peace and justice. I believe that the same message is being given to us today.

Christopher+

We just don’t get it…however hard we try we never quite reach the place Jesus wants us to be in…no, I do not mean “Church”, nor do I mean “saved”. I do not refer to being on our knees in prayer (nor standing up!)

 

I simply mean that Jesus wants us to rely on him. That’s it…pure and simple…

 

But, I hear you mutter, what does relying on Jesus entail? Where should I start?

How about including everything in that bold statement of faith…that is what the Patriarchs and Matriarchs and other great people of faith did. They excluded virtually nothing from that reliance on God. Jesus encourages such faith, loves to be relied on, and will never lets us down….try it for size…go on, I dare you!

 

Christopher+

Jesus has been said to be “reassuringly expensive” stealing an old advertising line!

 

What does that mean? It means the opposite of the cheap grace that Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned us about half a century ago. To be a disciple of Jesus means remarkable commitment and sacrifice. How far removed this seems from the pretty pink tinted spectacles that many Christian churches provide their congregation before letting them into their worship space.

 

The gospel message has been warped badly and needs to be re-iterated lovingly and clearly. The grace shown us every moment by God is staggering in its immensity, almost incredible in its scope, but it is not cheap. It requires discipleship, apprenticeship, but of a very committed type. It is not for the feint hearted!

 

Often we forget this, or try to scale down, in our own minds, the enormity of what we have taken on by deciding FOR Jesus. Yet part of the grace he offers is to allow for that very weakness and allow us to re-commit.

 

Now is the time. We face a very different future now that we have invested so heavily in the Quarry Village project. We are at the same time following the organic path, becoming part of the local community with our Child Care Center. We want to impact numerous lives with God’s love, showing this, in part, by our commitment to Him and his way.

 

Are you committed?

Christopher+

Organic Church is all about the belief that living things grow naturally. Its based in the conviction that “kingdom” things are organic things — they start small and eventually reproduce. Organic church planters think about churching a region, rather than specifically planting a church. Bringing Christ to where people live and play and then cooperate with God as he brings about the growth.
 

We shall start by multiplying healthy disciples and then leaders.  That is the New Testament way, and is ours too.  We start small, and build upwards and outwards. As we continue to grow into this model, we will realise how biblical its foundation is.
In whatever we do we shall be reminding ourselves that conventional churches  are often uncomfortable for not-yet-christians. That is one of many reasons why  we canot be a Church that simply invites people to meetings and programs.  Jesus never said that we should sit in our church and wait for people to come to us. He said “Go out”. He not only said it but he gave us training courses in how to do it!
 

Alan Hirsch suggests that instead we should not “seek to attract people”,  instead we  become involved in our communities in order to be Christ to those who don’t know him yet. This can be done through shared projects, proximity spaces, or attending other events where Christians and not-yet-Christians can interact meaningfully with each other.
 

He goes on to say that “Examples of “proximity spaces” include art workshops, pubs and cafes where Christians form part of the regular clientele. Shared projects are activities of genuine interest to the wider community, which meet a need and provide an opportunity for Christians and not-yet-Christians to meet in a natural situation. Commercial enterprises are real businesses, run by Christians for the wider community, but which are not overtly evangelistic. Daycare! The point of all of these activities is to find neutral ground where the Church can intentionally meet with the wider world.
 

We are already doing this in a few ways. The annual Airplane blessing at Heber airfield is a perfect example. Also we are now rapidly approaching the time when we run our own Child Daycare, AMONGST the people in Quarry Village. A great start!
 

Naturally Bible teaching and worship remain a crucial part of the life of our church. However we must always make sure that our worship is intelligible to seekers, and as a member of the congregation recently told me: “We have to begin to make the church experience a “celebration” that can be entered into and enjoyed by even the newest member of the Body of Christ. When we are truly evangelizing, we will be bringing new believers to the worship services every week – and they have to feel right at home, or they won’t come back. Church has to be a joy, a highlight, not a gauntlet”                                         
So, as we start this great adventure, this great mission trying to obey our Lord’s several commands to have a generous heart and to give the Kingdom to others let’s remember the basics of organic life…DNA
“D” stands for “Divine Truth”
“N” is “Nurturing relationships”
“A” is” Apostolic mission”
Christopher+

I know…you know this parable well, maybe too well…but read these verses in whatever translation you like…think about them and then re-read them. Change the scenery to soemthing you know better…maybe I-80 from Kimball Junction down to Sugarhouse…maybe replace soem of the main characters, with an Anglican priest, a vetsry member and so on…Which character resonates most with you? Is Jesus only teaching us about the Good Samaitan, or is he telling us something about the victim too?

Why do we as Christians so often struggle to admit hurts and traumas, acknowledge that not everything is rosey in our lives, and ask our Christian brothers and sisters for help?

Maybe, just maybe, the whitened sepulchre simile used by Jesus elsewhere is equally applicable to our failure to allow ourselves to be open and truthful with our fellowmembers of our community, instead putting on a whiter than white image for public consumption?

Unless we are open and honest even the good samaritan will pass us by, not realising we need help.Yet when we recognise our own hurt we shall be so much more effective in helping others in their times of trial.

Christopher+

Think about it…total dependence on God….how could it be any other way?

He created us… he has plans for us… everything God does somehow or other involves me and vice versa.  We are in relationship with God, pure and simple.  When you look at the Old Testament you see story after story about the relationship between God and man, and how it all works.
 

C.S. Lewis memorably said: “all that you are… every fold and crease of your individuality was devised from all eternity to fit God as a glove fits a hand”
 

So, however scary it initially seems to be a disciple of Christ, being his herald, when we learn complete dependence we will know the peace that passes all understanding, and all will be well.
Christopher+

The law has served its purpose; a good purpose, not a bad one. It was really acting as a kind of caretaker, or bodyguard, until the safety of faith in the risen Christ was possible for everyone, without exception. 

Once Jesus has been raised from the dead everything changed. The law is no longer the answer. As Christians we always run the risk of putting a new form of pharisaic rule in its place, and we would do well to test our attitudes and habits to make sure that we are not being dragged down by a new unnecessary concrete block

 

So what do we do now, without the law as caretaker? We approach our Lord as He is the one we now ask about the big questions of life: Why do we exist? Why do we act the way we do? What is the real purpose of everything?  

 

As Dallas Willard says: “We are by nature unceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe. We will never stop existing, and there is nothing we can do about it!”

 

If we accept that, then we need to run to Christ and start asking a bunch of questions, and more importantly listening to his answers. Allow him to be our guardian and mentor, and then rejoice in the freedom we are given..